Both MVP players, and leaders of their teams, though.
After watching Duncan in 03 with no stars next to him, I tend to think you could put him just about anywhere and he gets 3-4 rings.
Both MVP players, and leaders of their teams, though.
its pretty obvious and well do ented that kg had some issues in the clutch, which is one reason (among others) hes not considered up in those tiers of greatness
but is it simply because he wasn't an alpha?
fact is KG was not a particularly skilled scorer, compared to many other all time greats. he didnt have a skillset or go-to move that would make him consistently effective in the clutch against elite teams.
also, he often didnt have particularly talented scorers around him, so in the clutch it was very easy for teams to double him without worry. so whats he supposed to do, throw up a bad shot that hes not good at shooting to begin with against multiple defenders, or pass out in hopes to get some movement and for himself or a teammate to get a better look?
he had done both at different times in his career and got roasted either way, but it boils down to the fact that KG simply wasnt that type of player and was being held accountable for something he shouldnt have been. but unfortunately jordanstans and kobestans have completely ruined what the proper perspective of basketball players should be, and turned it into "durhrhrhrh if they dont take every single clutch shot themselves they are mentally weak and soft because mike won 6 rings and kobe won 5 durhrhrhrh" while completely ignoring that they were among the two most skilled scorers ever, and had stacked teams that perfectly covered their weaknesses and complimented them, something guys like KG didnt have for most of his career.
KG didn’t have the necessary go to moves, especially in the post and especially in that era. That’s nothing to do with basketball iq or cajones. What was KG supposed to do? Force up a bad shot with four guys covering him or passing to Wally szcerbiak? How far did Kobe get without some allnba front court? As far as KG did with Trent hassel and Joe smith. RD1 ( or not making it all together).
03 was amazing, just as 94 was amazing. But a lot of things go well in those years and it’s hard to duplicate it, let alone do it 3 or 4 times. At some point all that energy will burn out.
Well, it's true that KG wasn't exactly Duncan on the block, but I felt like he had enough moves to create when he needed to.
And I have a feeling that if you put Kobe with that same, mostly mediocre TWolve roster (minus KG obviously) he manages to get out of RD 1 a few times.
What is that based on? Kobe never made it out the first round without the best frontcourt in the league.
Besides, Kobe is in Garnett’s level now?
No, but he had 2 seed PHX on the brink with Smush Parker, Kwame Brown and Luke Walton in the starting lineup. I'm actually not a Kobe defender, but that had to be one of the worst supporting casts I've ever seen on a playoff team. They had no business even being there, tbh.
Tiers:
Bron -- Duncan
Kobe
Shaq
KG
I won't argue with anyone putting Bron over Duncan (probably reluctantly agree ... fvck!) -- but same tier
if not for the fact he is dead, Kobe would never be in any goat or top 5 conversations ever.. dude is a top 15 period.
one, it's already been established that Kobe > KG so that's a stupid comparison to make
two, who is he going to beat with that roster out of Webber kings, Shaq Kobe Lakers, Duncan spurs, and big3 mavs? or if you back it up a couple years, subtract the mavs and add the blazers and jazz to the mix
tbh even now, it's basically only kobestans and lebron haters who think he's a discussion for top 5 or goat. most people know that despite his supreme talent, his accomplishments simply don't add up to guys like Mike, Bron, Kareem, Duncan, magic or bird
We really need to stop comparing a top 5 all time player with 12. It’s not a comparison. Even entertaining the discussion is silly
That’s true for nba fans but for the rest the casual he is right there with MJ after his death.. pretty pathetic but that’s what it is.. just look at mainstream medias and social platforms.. dude is everywhere
So he didn’t.
Lebrons cavs team were worse. And he made it to the finals.
I can’t understand why people act like odom or butler wasn’t on those teams.
It’s like saying duncan dragged the team to a le with Nazr Mohamed as his best teammate.
Kobe most skilled - high volume gunner and low PER? Jordan much more skilled and not even debatable.
Odom was wildly inconsistent.
And I think that supporting cast Kobe had with the Lakers is very similar to what Lebron worked with, only in a MUCH tougher conference.
Do you need the word “skilled” defined for you?
Kobe was a better ballhandler, shooter, passer, and low post player than Jordan. His bag of tricks was much larger than Jordan’s. The problem with Kobe, as has already been explained here, was hubris.
Jordan was stronger, more athletic, and obviously had the deadliest midrange game ever. Jordan executed his much smaller bag of tricks to perfection. He was unstoppable in certain spots on the court. But in today’s NBA he never would have shot the 3-ball well enough to dominate like he did in the 90’s. I don’t know that he could execute the higher level passing we see now either. He’s still the greatest because he still dominated at a level we’ve never seen.
It’s not a crime to admit that Kobe had superior basketball skills to Jordan, or that LeBron’s complete package is the best we’ve ever seen. They still never dominated and controlled the league like Jordan did.
Yeah so a similar supporting cast got one to the finals and the other a first round exit. We are not talking about first round vs second round. It’s the finals.
Lebron went through Detroit as well, it’s not like that was a bad team.
It’s funny how every player who played with Kobe got viewed at a worse light over time just to bump Kobe up. Odom, shaq, mvpau, Bynum, fisher, pedo, Payton, smush. It’s almost comical.
Dirk, Steph Curry and KD better than Kobe tbh
I agree, Kobe was more skilled than MJ , but Jordan was better
Derozan was better?
Does anyone still talk about Defense around here? It has never been easier to score. What's the big deal.
Gee i wonder if Duncan could match Kobme if the Spurs were given MVPau for Matt Bonner.
Add in LakerRef in case games were close.
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